Primers for amplifying hsp 65 gene of mycobacterial species, hsp 65 gene fragments and method of identifying mycobacterial species with the same

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a pair of primers specific to mycobacterial spedes, a polynucleotide of an hsp 65 gene fragment, and a method for the identification of mycobacterial species by using the same. More specifically, the 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragment can be applied to identification methods of mycobacteria such as the comparative sequence analysis method, the probe hybridization method, and PCR-RFLP, which can resolve the problems of a conventional identification method based on bio-chemical characteristics, where the genus mycobacterium covers various species and has a low growth rate, and of the problems of 16s rDNA. Thus, according to the identification method of the present invention, the mycobacterial species can be identified simply, economically, and accurately.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is based on Korean patent application No. 002-004297 filed on Jan. 24, 2002, and Korean patent application No. 002-0011648 filed on Mar. 5, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a pair of primers specific to Mycobacterial species, more specifically to a pair of primers that can specifically amplify the hsp 65 gene of mycobacteria, a gene fragment of hsp 65, and an identifying method of Mycobacterial species.

(b) Description of the Related Art

The genus Mycobacterium covers a wide range of organisms including obligate species causing serious human and animal disease such as tuberculosis, bovine tuberculosis, and leprosy; opportunistic pathogens; and saprothytic species found in the natural environment. At present, it is known that about 72 species of the genus mycobacterium have been reported, of which about 25 species are involved in the human diseases.

Tuberculosis is the largest of the Mycobacterial infections. The Mycobacterial species causing tuberculosis include M. tuberculosis, M bovis, M. africanum, and M. microti, which are classified as M. tuberculosis complex (TB complex). M. tuberculosis is common and important in causing tuberculosis. Tuberculosis infection decreased because of continuous use of antituberculosis drugs until the end of the 1980s, but in line with the rapid increase of AIDS and Mycobacterium tuberculosis with drug resistance, tuberculosis increased in developed countries in the 1990s. In particular, it has been reported that the death rate due to tuberculosis is the highest among infectious diseases in Korea, claiming about three hundred or more lives per year, because of the increase in the number of street people in the International Monetary Fund era in Korea.

Mycobacteria Other than Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MOTT, or nontuberculous mycobacteria, NTM) causes infection in aged people and immuno-compromised patients, and its clinical manifestation is similar to tuberculosis. The occurrence of MOTT is still lower than tuberculosis in Korea, but it is quite common. It is difficult to determine the pathogenicity from isolate that is separated from a clinical sample. In addition, resistance of MOTT to most anti-tuberculosis drugs and its recurrence rate makes it difficult to treat MOTT infection. It has been reported that MOTT also causes disease in patients who are not immuno-compromised, and that 50% of Mycobacterial infection in the United States is tuberculosis and 50% is MOTT infection over the past 10 years. With the spread of HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) infection since the 1980s, MOTT has caused systemic disseminated infection of immuno-compromised patients. Thus, MOTT has been closely watched.

Mycobacterial species have different patterns of resistance to antituberculosis drugs from each other, and thus they are treated by different methods with different drugs (Wolinsky E: Mycobacterial diseases other than tuberculosis. Clin Infect Dis 15: 1-10, 1992). Accordingly, Mycobacteria need to be differentiated and identified on a species level.

A biochemical method for identifying Mycobacterial species is laborious and time-consuming due to the slow growing rate of Mycobacteria. A cell wall lipid analyzing method using High-performance Uipid Chromatography (HPLC) and Thin Layer Lipid Chromatography (TLC) is difficult to perform and is costly, and thus it is carried out on a small laboratory scale. The use of conventional identifying methods has a disadvantage in that it takes a great deal of time to perform due to the slow growing rate of the Mycobacteria (about 2-3 months for slow-growing mycobacteria). Thus, the treatment of Mycobacterial infection can be delayed (Nolte F S, Metchock B: Mycobacterium, In Murray P R, Baron E J, Pfaller M A, Tenover F C, Yolken R H (eds.), Manual of clinical microbiology. American Society for Microbiology, Washington, D.C. 400-437, 1995.).

16s rDNA is commonly used as a chronometer molecule for identification of the Mycobacterial species with a molecular biological method. In 1990, the nucleic acid sequence of 16s rDNA was analyzed, and it shows the phylogenetic relationship of Mycobacteria well. Until now, various methods of identifying Mycobacterial species by using the 16S rDNA have been developed and studied (Comparative sequence analysis, Probe hybridization, and Polymerization chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism).

Identifying methods of Mycobacterial species by using dnaJ and 23S rDNA as alternative chronometers were developed in 1994. However, dnaJ and 23S rDNA have problems in phylogenetic relationship determination and conservation of nucleic acid sequences, and thus the methods were not used for target genes (Victor T C, Jordaan A M, Van Schalkwyk E J, Coetzee G J, Van Helden P D. Strain-specific variation in the dnaJ gene of mycobacteria. J Med Microbiol. 44(5):332-339, 1996). In 1993, Telenti A et al. reported that a method for the identification of mycobacteria at the species level was developed by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-Restriction Enzyme Length Polymorphism of a gene fragment of hsp 65. The method involves steps of amplifying an hsp 65 gene fragment by PCR and restriction enzyme analysis of PCR products of hsp 65 with two restriction enzymes, BstEII and HaeIII, and 29 species and subspecies were differentiated by PCR-restriction enzyme pattern analysis. (Telenti A, Marchesi F, Balz M, Bally F, Bottger E C, Bodmer T. “Rapid identification of mycobacteria to the species level by polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme analysis,” J. Clin. Microbiol. 31 (2):175-8. 1993).

However, the above methods for identifying mycobacteria are disadvantageous in that the procedure involves various restriction enzymes and is expensive. In addition, the gene fragment must be differentiated to a 10 bp fragment due to the small size of the restriction enzyme fragment in the case of Hae III. Also, mycobacterial species must be identified accurately on the basis of a known restriction fragment database of each species, or they must be analyzed by comparing the electrophoresis patterns of the subject strain and its reference strain.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To resolve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a pair of primers for amplifying the hsp65 gene of mycobacteria.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a polynucleotide of the hsp65 gene fragment that is amplified with the primers.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a probe or a probe set for detecting or identifying mycobacterial species comprising at least a gene fragment of the hsp 65 gene of reference mycobacterial species.

It is a still another object of the present invention to provide a simple and accurate method for the detection or identification of mycobacterial species.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for the identification of mycobacterial species comprising the steps of:

-   -   (1) amplifying an hsp 65 gene fragment of mycobacteria of         interest with primers for specifically amplifying the hsp 65         gene of mycobacteria;     -   (2) analyzing the nucleotide sequence of the amplified hsp 65         gene fragment; and     -   (3) comparing the nucleotide sequence of the amplified hsp 65         gene fragment obtained in step (2) with a 604-bp hsp 65 gene         fragment of a reference mycobacterial species.

It is a further object to provide a method for the detection or identification of mycobacterial species comprising the steps of:

-   -   (1) amplifying an hsp 65 gene fragment of mycobacteria of         interest with primers for specifically amplifying the hsp 65         gene of mycobacteria; and     -   (2) hybridizing the amplified hsp 65 gene fragment with a probe         set comprising at least a probe of the hsp 65 gene fragment.

It is a further object to provide a method for the identification of mycobacterial species comprising the steps of amplifying an hsp 65 gene fragment of mycobacteria of interest with a pair of primers for specifically amplifying the hsp 65 gene of mycobacteria, and analyzing according to the Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) analysis using the restriction enzyme recognition site in the amplified hsp 65 gene fragment.

It is a further object to provide a kit useful for the diagnosis or identification of mycobacterial species comprising a pair of primers for amplifying the hsp 65 gene of mycobacteria, and a restriction enzyme recognizing the restriction enzyme recognition site which is located in the amplified hsp 65 gene fragment.

It is a further object to provide a kit useful for the diagnosis or identification of mycobacterial species comprising an amplifying means comprising a pair of primers for specifically amplifying the 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragment of mycobacteria, a hybridization means comprising a probe set including at least a 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragment, and a labeling means for detecting the hybridized product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and the other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows the hsp 65 gene fragment and the primers of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a photograph of electrophoresis showing the amplified product of mycobacterial DNA, wherein panel A shows a result obtained from analysis of the amplified gene fragment of reference strains, and panel B shows a result for the amplified gene fragments of mycobacteria in a clinical sample;

FIG. 3 is a photograph of agarose gel electrophoresis showing the hsp 65 gene fragment of a reference mycobacterial species that was amplified and then treated with Xho I;

FIG. 4 is a summarized diagram showing a result of PCR-RFLP of hsp 65 gene fragments of reference strains of mycobacteria;

FIG. 5 is a photograph of agarose gel electrophoresis where hsp 65hsp 65 gene fragments of mycobacteria in a clinical sample were amplified and then treated with XhoI;

FIG. 6 shows phylogenetic relationships of 50 reference mycobacterial species obtained in Example 7; and

FIGS. 7 a to 7 d shows the results of the identification of mycobacteria in a clinical sample according to a comparative sequence analysis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to a pair of primers specific to mycobacteria, and more specifically to a pair of primers specifically amplifying an hsp 65 gene fragment of mycobacteria, an hsp 65 gene fragment, and a method for the identification of mycobacteria with the same.

Considering the problems in conventional identification methods and the taxonomy of mycobacteria, the inventors provide PCR primers that can amplify M. tuberculosis and non-tuberculosis mycobacteria, an hsp 65 gene fragment as a chronometer molecule which exists in all mycobacteria, and a method for the identification of mycobacteria by using the primers and hsp 65 gene fragments. By using the restriction fragment of the amplified product of hsp 65 genes with treatment of Xho I, it is possible to differentiate M. tuberculosis and non-tuberculosis mycobacteria, and to differentiate non-tuberculosis mycobacteria.

In order to obtain a pair of primers that preferably amplify the hsp 65 gene of mycobacteria, the inventors prepared the primers on the basis of the hsp 65 gene of M. tuberculosis (GenBank No. M15467), M. avium (GenBank No. AF281650) of which 1623-bp full sequences of the hsp 65 gene were analyzed, and T. paurometabola (GenBank No. AF352578) which is phylogenetically closer to mycobacteria. The forward primer comprises 20 nucleotides located at the 163rd position to the 182nd position of the hsp 65 gene sequence of the three mycobacteria, and the backward primer comprises 20 nucleotides located at the 787th position to the 806th position. In addition, the modified primers or polynucleotides comprising the primers can be used for amplifying 644-bp hsp 65 gene fragments of mycobacteria. The primer region of the hsp 65 gene is adopted from the region of M. tuberculosis and M. avium which belong to genus mycobacteria and Tsukamurella paurometabola. Preferably, the forward, primer is 5′-ATCGCCMGGAGATCGAGCT-3′, which is called HSPF 3 and is shown in SEQ ID NO: 55. The backward primer is 5′-MGGTGCCGCGGATCTTGTT-3′, which is called HSPR 4 and is shown in SEQ ID NO: 56. The positions of the hsp 65 gene fragment and the primers are schematically indicated in FIG. 1.

The present invention provides polynucleotides of hsp 65 gene fragments used for detecting or identifying mycobacterial species. In addition, the present invention provides polynucleotide sets comprising at least a polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of hsp 65 gene fragments or complementary sequences thereto.

The chronometer molecule used for the identification of mycobacterial species in the present invention is the 644-bp gene fragment located at the 163rd position to the 806th position of a 1623-bp hsp 65 gene of M. tuberculosis. The 644-bp gene fragment is substantially a 604-bp fragment because the 40-bp primer sequence is excluded. As a result of a Genbank database search, it was found that all 604-bp gene fragments of hsp 65 of 54 kinds of reference mycobacterial species are novel.

To establish the database for detecting and identifying the mycobacteria, the reference strains as shown in Table 1 were employed. 50 reference strains included 47 reference strains from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), a reference strain of M. leprae (Thai 53 strains) from Hanssen's disease center of the Catholic University of Korea, and 2 reference strains (type II, III) of M. kansasii from V. Vincent. In addition, hsp 65 gene fragments of 3 reference strains of Tsukamurella from the German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, and a reference strain of Nocardia from ATCC were analyzed (Table 1). TABLE 1 Reference strains of the present invention No species source Reference strains of mycobacteria 1 M. abscessus CAP97E−03 2 M. africanum ATCC 25420 3 M. asiaticum ATCC 25276 4 M. aichiense ATCC 27280 5 M. avium ATCC 25291 6 M. bovis ATCC 19210 7 M. bovis BCG French strain 8 M. celatum Type I ATCC 51131 9 M. celatum Type II ATCC 51130 10 M. chelonae ATCC 35749 11 M. chitae ATCC 19627 12 M. microti ATCC 19422 13 M. flavescens ATCC 14474 14 M. fortuitum ATCC 6841 6841 15 M. fortuitum ATCC 49403 49403 16 M. fortuitum ATCC 49404 49404 17 M. gastri ATCC 15754 18 M. genavense ATCC 51233 19 M. gordonae ATCC 14470 20 M. haemophilum ATCC 29548 21 M. interjectum ATCC 51457 22 M. intermedium ATCC 51848 23 M. intracellulare ATCC 13950 24 M. kansasii Type I ATCC 12478 25 M. kansasii Type II V. Vincent 26 M. kansasii Type III V. Vincent 27 M. leprae Thai 53 28 M. malmoense ATCC 29571 29 M. marinum ATCC 927 30 M. mucogenicum ATCC 49650 31 M. neoaurum ATCC 25795 32 M. nonchromogenicum ATCC 19530 33 M. paratuberculosis ATCC 19698 34 M. phlei ATCC 11758 35 M. peregrinum ATCC 14467 36 M. scrofulaceum ATCC 19981 37 M. senegalense ATCC 35796 38 M. shimoidei ATCC 27962 39 M. simiae ATCC 25275 40 M. smegmatis ATCC 19420 41 M. szulgai ATCC 35799 42 M. terrae ATCC 15755 43 M. thermoresitibile ATCC 19527 44 M. triviale ATCC 23292 45 M. tuberculosis ATCC 27294 46 M. ulcerans ATCC 19423 47 M. vaccae ATCC 15483 48 M. wolinskyi ATCC 700010 49 M. parafortuitum ATCC 19686 50 M. farcinogenes ATCC 35753 Reference strain of bacteria other than mycobacteria 1 T. paurometabola DSM 20162 2 T. tyrosinosolvens DSM 44234 3 T. pulmonis DSM 44142 4 N. carnea ATCC 6847

For detecting and identifying Mycobacterial species, the present invention provides 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragments as a new chronometer molecule, instead of 16S rDNA. The chronometer molecules must satisfy the following requirements in order to reflect the phylogenetic relationship. Firstly, the target gene must be essential for the functions and be highly conserved in all organisms. Secondly, the target gene must not mutate by lateral transfer based on selection pressure between species. Thirdly, the target gene must have interspecies variation and intraspecies conservation, which suitably reflects a phylogenetic relationship. The hsp 65 gene fragment of the present invention suitably satisfies the requirements of the chronometer molecule.

The nucleotide sequences of reference strains were analyzed according to a direct sequence analysis method, and compared with each other by multi-alignment. As a result, it was found that strains other than five kinds of TB complex including M. africanum, M. bovis, M. bovis BCG, M. microti, and M. tuberculosis (54 reference strains) have different nucleotide sequences, namely interspecies variation. In a previous report, the five kinds of mycobacteria belonging to the TB complex had the same nucleotide sequence analyzed according to another analyzing method using the 16S rDNA or rpoB gene fragment, and it was found that the mycobacterial species belonged to the same species. The result showed that the hsp 65 gene fragment of the present invention satisfied the interspecies variation of nucleotide sequences. Secondly, all 54 reference strains used in the experiment have 604-bp coding sequences without insertion and deletion, when they are multi-aligned. That is, there is no gap on multi-aligned sequences. 16S rDNA has a gap at a high frequency on multi-alignment of the nucleotide sequence. It is known that because an aligned gene corresponding to the gap must be eliminated in performing multi-alignment, the gap causes an error in establishing the phylogenetic tree at a high rate. Therefore, the identification method using the hsp 65 gene of the present invention provides significant advantages.

In order to investigate whether the 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragment of the present invention can be suitable for use as a chronometer molecule, a phylogenetic tree was constructed by the nucleotide sequence of 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragments of various mycobacteria. In addition, the mycobacteria identified according to the other conventional method were analyzed by the identification method of the present invention using the hsp 65 gene fragment. As a result, the present invention accurately identified the mycobacteria.

The phylogenetic tree of the reference strains of the present invention showed the natural relationships of the mycobacteria. That is, the result confirmed that 50 reference strains of TB complex formed a large group excluding T. paurometabola as an outgroup (FIG. 6). Also, slow-growing mycobacteria and fast-growing mycobacteria formed different groups. M. tuberculosis and M. leprae of pathogenic mycobacteria formed the same branch of the phylogenetic tree. MOTT were isolated frequently. M. avium and M. intracellulare, showing quite similar biochemical characteristics, formed the same branch. The results showed general characteristics of mycobacteria. M. kansasii and M. gastri have 100% sequence homology, and thus cannot be differentiated according to the conventional identification method using 16S rDNA, but they are differentiated according to the present invention. Moreover, the subspecies of M. kansasii can be differentiated (namely, the hsp 65 gene fragments of M. kansasii Type I, II, and III have different nucleotide sequences). The results of the present invention show the phylogenetic relationships of mycobacteria. That is, the slow-growing mycobacteria and fast-growing bacteria form different branches of the phylogenetic tree, and M. tuberculosis and M. lepare form the same branch.

The mycobacterial species can be identified according to the identifying method of mycobacteria, such as comparative sequence analysis, probe hybridization, and PCR-RFLP, using the polynucleotide of the present invention. The comparative sequence analysis, probe hybridization, and PCR-RFLP can be carried out according to the method which has been known to a skilled person in the art. For example, a method for identifying the mycobacteria with 16s rDNA can be applied for the identification method of the present invention.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a method for the identification of mycobacteria by using PCR-RFLP (also called PRA). The method comprises the steps of amplifying hsp 65 gene fragments of mycobacteria with primers specific to mycobacteria, preferably primers as shown in SEQ ID NOs: 55 and 56, and analyzing the amplified product according to the RFLP analysis by using the restriction enzyme recognizing the target site located in the amplified product. The identification method is simple, economical, and specific to the mycobacteria.

The general PRA method comprising the steps of 1) DNA extraction, 2) PCR amplification, 3) confirmation of the amplified product, 4) digestion with a restriction enzyme, 5) analysis of restriction fragment, and 6) visualization by image capture systems. The restriction enzymes applicable for this invention include all the restriction enzymes that can recognize the site specifically existing in a 644-bp fragment, preferably Xho I.

In addition, any method for differentiating the restriction fragment on the basis of its size, preferably electrophoresis, and more preferably agarose gel electrophoresis or polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, can be applied for analyzing the restriction fragment.

In comparison with the conventional method for identifying mycobacteria using the hsp 65 gene, the method of the present invention is simple and economical. The conventional method uses a 439-bp fragment of hsp 65 gene as a target gene, and two kinds of restriction enzymes, Hae II and BstE II. As described above, the identification method of the present invention uses one restriction enzyme, such as Xho I, and it is advantageous in time and cost. In addition, the 439-bp fragment of the conventional method is shorter than 644-bp of the present invention. By treating with Hae III and recognizing four nucleotides in the conventional method, many fragments are produced so that the small fragments, such as a 10-bp fragment, must be separated. Thus, in order to accurately identify mycobacteria in the conventional method, it is necessary to use the restriction fragment database of reference strains, or to analyze the mycobacteria of interest together with putative reference species according to restriction enzyme treatment and electrophoresis. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the identifying method of mycobacteria uses Xho-I recognizing six (6) nucleotides as target sites, thereby making it perform more gel electrophoresis. However, the identification method is accurate and simple.

The present invention provides a new system where a 644-bp hsp 65 gene fragment of mycobacteria is amplified with primers specifically for amplifying the 644-bp hsp 65 gene fragment of mycobacteria, and it is treated with Xho-I to differentiate and identify the mycobacterial species. Only a process of PRA makes it possible to differentiate the MOTT into 3 groups, as well as M. tuberculosis. That is, the treatment of the amplified product with a restriction enzyme produces only a 644-bp gene fragment in fast-growing mycobacteria, thereby differentiating it from the slow-growing mycobacteria. M. avium complex (for examples, M. avium and M. intracellulare) which belongs to slow-growing mycobacteria and is isolated most frequently in clinical samples produces three kinds of restriction fragments, 391 -bp, 169-bp, and 84-bp, thereby differentiating them from other groups including M. kansasii producing two kinds of restriction fragments, 391-bp and 253-bp.

Among the genus Mycobacterium that includes about 70 species, about 10 strains including M. tuberculosis, M. avium complex, M. kansasii, M. szulgai, M. gordonae, M. fortuitum, and M. chelonae cover 90% of isolates in a clinical sample, and thus they can be effectively identified according to the identification method of the present invention.

In another aspect of the present invention, a TB complex can be differentiated from MOTT by treating the amplified hsp 65 gene fragment with Xho I, and analyzing it according to RFLP. In addition, the TB complex can be differentiated based on the restriction fragment of the amplified 644-bp hsp 65 fragments of 391 -bp, 150-bp, and 103-bp.

In a further aspect of the present invention, a 644-bp hsp 65 gene fragment of fast-growing mycobacteria is not cleaved by a restriction enzyme, Xho I. The fast growing mycobacteria can be differentiated depending on whether the amplified product can be cleaved by the restriction enzyme or not. Thus, the present invention provides a method for differentiating fast-growing mycobacteria among MOTT. When 391 -bp, 169-bp, and 84-bp restriction fragments are produced by the treatment of Xho I and RFLP analysis of mycobacteria, the mycobacteria can be identified as species including M.avium, M. intracellulare, M.celatum, M. shimoidei, and M. szulgai.

In the case that the treatment of Xho I and the RFLP analysis produces 391-bp and 253-bp restriction fragments, the mycobacterial species are identified as species including M. gastri, M. genavense, M. gordonae, M. haemophilum, M. kansasii, M. malmoense, M. marinum, M. scrofulaceum, M. simiae, and M. ulcerans.

The differentiation results are summarized, depending on the size pattern of restriction fragments obtained in the present invention, in FIG. 4.

The present invention also relates to a kit for differentiating or diagnosing mycobacterial species comprising Xho I and primers specific to the hsp 65 gene of mycobacterial species, preferably primers as shown in SEQ ID NOs: 55 and 56, wherein the DNA of mycobacterial species in a sample is amplified with the primers to produce the hsp 65 gene fragment, and the mycobacterial species are differentiated depending on the restriction fragments obtained according to RFLP. The kit further comprises a PCR amplification kit and a RFLP kit. Any kit that has been known for the use and is commercially available is applicable to the present invention.

In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method for detecting and identifying the mycobacterial species, comprising the steps of (1) amplifying 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragments of mycobacterial species of interest with a primer that can specifically amplify hsp 65 gene fragments, (2) hybridizing the amplified product with a probe set comprising at least a 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragment selected from the group consisting of the polynucleotide of a 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragment of mycobacterial species. In the embodiment of the method, the hsp 65 gene fragment of mycobacterial species of interest can be amplified according to general amplification methods of nucleotides such as PCR, LCR (ligase chain reaction), NASBA, etc. The amplified product can be hybridized with 604-bp gene fragment(s) or 644-bp gene fragment(s) of the reference species, preferably a probe or probe set comprising a fragment selected from the group consisting of polynucleotides as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 to SEQ ID NO: 54, and the polynucleotides complementary thereto. The hybridization step can be carried out according to a general hybridization method. For example, the hybridization can be performed on a solid surface, or it can be carried out by using a microarray including the probe immobilized thereon.

The present invention provides an identification or diagnosis kit comprising (1) a means for amplification including a pair of primers specific to an hsp 65 gene of mycobacterial species; (2) a means for hybridization comprising a 604-bp or 644-bp gene fragment of hsp 65 of mycobacterial species, preferably a probe or probe set comprising a gene fragment selected from the group consisting of polynucleotides as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 to SEQ ID NO: 54 and polynucleotides complementary thereto; and (3) a labeling means for detecting the hybridized product. The labeling means can include all the labeling means that can be generally used for detection of hybridized DNA, for example Cy5, biotin-binding compounds, Cy3, EDANS(5-(2′-aminoethyl)amino-1-naphthalene sulfate), tetramethylrhodamine (TMR), tetramethylrhodamine isocyanate (TMRIT C), x-rhodamine, and Texas red.

The present invention provides a method for identification of mycobacterial species by using comparative sequence analysis. The database of hsp 65 gene fragments as described above can be applicable to the method. The present invention provides a method for identification of mycobacterial species by using 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragments. More specifically, the method comprises the steps of:

-   -   (1) amplifying hsp 65 gene fragments of mycobacteria of interest         with primers for specifically amplifying the hsp 65 gene of         mycobacteria;     -   (2) analyzing the nucleotide sequence of the amplified hsp 65         gene fragment; and     -   (3) comparing the nucleotide sequence of the amplified hsp 65         gene fragment obtained in step (2) with a 604-bp hsp 65 gene         fragment of a reference strain of mycobacteria.

Preferably, step (3) can be carried out by multi-aligning the 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragment of mycobacterial species of interest with a polynucleotide set comprising at least an hsp 65 604-bp polynucleotide of reference strains of mycobacteria to infer a phylogenetic tree. According to the comparative sequence analysis, a database of 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragments is established by amplifying the hsp 65 gene fragment of reference species of mycobacteria with the primers specific to mycobacteria, preferably primers as shown in SEQ ID NO: 55 and SEQ ID NO: 5, and analyzing the nucleotide sequence of the amplified product. In the example of the present invention, the database of 604-bp fragments of 54 reference strains except for the primer sequence is established by analyzing the nucleotide sequences of the 604-bp fragments, and through multi-alignment. The 604-bp fragments of reference strains obtained in the present invention are shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 to SEQ ID NO: 54. The mycobacterial species of interest can be identified according to comparative sequence analysis by using the database.

As the hsp 65 gene fragments of the mycobacterial species of interest are different from those of the reference species, mycobacterial species of interest can be identified based on the criterion of nucleotide sequence homology of hsp 65 genes of reference species. Because a mycobacterial species has a different range of sequence homology, mycobacterial species can be identified based on the specific range of the sequence homology thereof. For example, M. gordonae has a wide range of sequence homology, but M. tuberculosis has a narrow range. In addition, mycobacterial species can be identified by multi-aligning the nucleotide sequence of 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragments with those of reference species to infer a phylogenetic relationship.

To confirm that the database including 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragments of 50 reference strains of mycobacterial species can be useful for identifying the mycobacterial species in a clinical sample, the identification method of the present invention was applied for 38 strains of mycobacteria obtained from the Korean Institute of Tuberculosis of the Korean National Tuberculosis Association, which had already been identified by using biochemical identification methods such as pigmentation on solid media; optimal growth temperature; degree of growth on media including catalase, iron, and p-nitrobenzoic acid; hydrolysis of tween 80; a Tellulite reduction test; degree of growth on media including 5% NaCl; production of Niacin; Nitrate reduction test; and production of Urease according to a blind test. The test results are shown in Table 2. In the table, the strain item indicates the number offered by the Korean Institute of Tuberculosis at random. The biochemical method item is a result of identification by the Korean Institute of Tuberculosis, and the item hsp 65 gene analysis method is a result of the present invention. TABLE 2 Identification result for clinical isolates hsp 65 gene analysis No. strain Biochemical method method 1 KIT M. tuberculosis M. tuberculosis 77009 2 KIT M. tuberculosis M. tuberculosis 77710 3 KIT M. tuberculosis M. tuberculosis 77712 4 KIT M. tuberculosis M. tuberculosis 77714 5 KIT M. tuberculosis M. tuberculosis 77719 6 KIT M. tuberculosis M. tuberculosis 77720 7 KIT M. tuberculosis M. tuberculosis 77721 8 KIT M. tuberculosis M. tuberculosis 77722 9 KIT M. tuberculosis M. tuberculosis 77723 10 KIT M. tuberculosis M. tuberculosis 77725 11 KIT M. avium complex M. intracellulare 41105 12 KIT M. avium complex M. avium 41110 13 KIT M. avium complex M. intracellulare 41111 14 KIT M. avium complex M. intracellulare 41115 15 KIT M. scrofulaceum M. scrofulaceum 30101 16 KIT M. scrofulaceum M. scrofulaceum 30102 17 KIT M. kansasii M. kansasii Type I 20118 18 KIT M. kansasii M. kansasii Type I 20119 19 KIT M. kansasii M. kansasii Type I 20120 20 KIT M. terrae complex M. nonchromogenicum 47101 21 KIT M. terrae complex M. nonchromogenicum 47102 22 KIT M. terrae complex M. nonchromogenicum 47103 23 KIT M. terrae complex M. nonchromogenicum 47104 24 KIT M. gordonae M. gordonae 32101 25 KIT M. gordonae M. gordonae 32104 26 KIT M. gordonae M. gordonae 32105 27 KIT M. gordonae M. gordonae 32106 28 KIT M. szulgai M. szulgai 31102 29 KIT M. szulgai M. szulgai 31103 30 KIT M. szulgai M. szulgai 31106 31 KIT M. szulgai M. szulgai 31107 32 KIT M. marinum M. marinum 21101 33 KIT M. fortuitum complex M. fortuitum 6841 60108 34 KIT M. fortuitum complex M. fortuitum 6841 60109 35 KIT M. fortuitum complex M. fortuitum 6841 60110 36 KIT M. fortuitum complex M. fortuitum 6841 60111 37 KIT M. chelonae complex M. abscessus 61104 38 KIT M. chelonae complex M. abscessus 61105

The nucleotide sequences of 38 mycobacteria obtained from the clinical sample were analyzed and then multi-aligned with the database of reference strains to infer the phylogenetic tree. From the results, all 38 strains were identified to the species level with 100% sensitivity and specificity (Table 2 and FIGS. 7 a to 7 d). The results are specifically described below.

A. Identification of M. tuberculosis

M. tuberculosis is the most pathogenic and important species in public health. The results of the identification of M. tuberculosis by using the database of the reference species of mycobacteria of the present invention confirmed that all twenty (20) M. tuberculosis were identified (Table 2 and FIG. 7 c), and showed that 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragments of 20 strains have 100% sequence homology with a 604-bp fragment of M. tuberculosis ATCC 27284 reference strain. The 16s rDNA and rpoB gene used as a target gene are involved in resistance to streptomycin and to rifampin, respectively. The target genes in mycobacteria with a resistance to antituberculosis drugs can be mutated. However, unlike 16s rDNA and rpoB, the hsp 65 gene is not related to resistance to antibiotics, and thus it does not mutate. Therefore, the 604-bp hsp 65 gene is stable with respect to the selection pressure of antituberculosis drugs in comparison with other target genes.

B. Identification of M. avium Complex

The identification method was applied to 4 strains of M. avium complex which are the most commonly isolated in MOTT. As a result, the strains were identified to the species level as 3 M. intracellulares and a strain of M. avium. According to the biochemical identification method, it is not possible to differentiate M. intracellulare and M. avium because they have the same biochemical characteristics. In comparing the nucleotide sequences of 1 M. avium (KIT 41110) and M. avium ATCC 25281, they have 99.5% nucleotide sequence homology with 3 different nucleotides. When the nucleotide sequences of the 3 M. intracellulares (KIT 41105, 41111, and 51115) are compared with that of M. Intracellulare ATCC 13850, they show 99.0-99.8% sequence homology. Those results are consistent with the fact that M. intracellulare includes various genotypes, namely interspecies heterogeneity (Devallois A, Picardeau M, Paramasivan C N, Vincent V, Rastogi N: Molecular characterization of Mycobacterium avium complex isolates giving discordant results in AccuProbe tests by PCR-restriction enzyme analysis, 16s rRNA sequencing, and DT1-DT6 PCR. J Clin Microbiol 1997 35: 2767-2772).

C. Identification of M. scrofulaceum.

2 strains (KIT 30101, 30102) were identified as M. scrofulaceum (FIG. 7 b), and they have 99.8-100% nucleotide sequence homology with M. scrofulaceum ATCC 19981.

D. Identification of M. kansasii

M. kansasii is the most pathogenic in MOTT, and it is in second position in isolation frequency after M. avium complex. 16s rDNA of M. kansasii showed 100% nucleotide sequence homology with that of non-pathogenic M. gastri, thereby making it difficult to differentiate them. In addition, M. kansasii consists of at least 5 subspecies where type II and type III are reported to be separated from clinical material. 3 strains are identified as M. kansasii by using the database of 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragments of reference strains, which are consistent with results of the biochemical identification method. The method for identifying the mycobacterial species by using the database has characteristics such that M. kansasii can be differentiated from M. gastri, and subspecies of M. kansasii can be differentiated. The result confirmed that 3 strains of M. kansasii (KIT 20118, 20119, 20120) have 100% nucleotide sequence homology, and they are identified as M. kansasii Type I ATCC 12478 (FIG. 4 c).

E. Identification of M. gordonae. M. szulgai, M. marinum, and M. terrae Complex

As a result of identifying the clinically separated mycobacterial strains with the database of the present invention, 4 strains (KIT 32101, 32104, 32105, and 32106) were found to be M. gordonae (FIG. 7 a, and Table 2). When comparing the nucleotide sequences of the 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragments of the 4 strains, they have 99.2-99.8% sequence homology with lo each other, but they have 95.9-96.3% sequence homology with M. gordonae ATCC 14470, which indicates a considerably low sequence homology between M. gordonae species. The result is consistent with the report that M. gordonae has intraspecies heterogeneity (Abed Y, Bollet C, de Micco P. Identification and strain differentiation of Mycobacterium species on the basis of DNA 16S-23S spacer region polymorphism. Res Microbiol. 1995 146(5): 405-13). That is, 4 isolates obtained from the same region have high sequence homology with one another, but low sequence homology with reference strains obtained from different regions.

As a result of identification of mycobacterial species with the database of reference species, 4 strains (KIT 31102, 31103, 31106, and 31107) were identified as M. szulgai, which is consistent with that of the biochemical identification method (FIG. 7 a, and Table 2). The nucleotide sequences of the 4 strains have 99.5-100% nucleotide sequence homology with M. szulgai ATCC 35799.

As a result of identification of mycobacterial species with the database of reference species, 1 strain was identified as M. marinum, which is consistent with that of the biochemical identification method (FIG. 7 a and Table 2). The nucleotide sequence of the strain has 99.3% nucleotide sequence homology with M. marinum ATCC 927(//).

M. terrae complex does not generally cause disease in humans, and it includes 3 reference strains of the present invention (M. terrae, M. triviale, M. nonchromogenicum), and various mycobacterial species which are not classified. As a result of identification of mycobacterial species with the database of reference species, 4 strains were identified as M. nonchromogenicum among the M. terrae complex, which is consistent with the previous report using the biochemical identification method. When comparing the 4 strains with the reference strain, the nucleotide sequences of the strains had 95.0-100% nucleotide sequence homology with M. nonchromogenicum ATCC 19530. The result concurs with the report that M. terrae complex has intraspecies heterogeneity.

F. Identification of Fast-growing Mycobacteria (M. fortuitum Complex and M. chelonae Complex)

As a result of identification of mycobacterial species with the database of reference species, 2 strains (KIT 61104, 61105) were identified as M. abscessus of M. chelonae complex. The result is consistent with that of the biochemical identification method. However, the identification method of the present invention resolves the problem of the conventional biochemical method that M. chelonae and M. abscessus cannot be differentiated. The nucleotide sequences of the hsp 65 gene fragments of the strains have 98.4-99.5% nucleotide sequence homology with M. abscessus CAP97E-03.

According to the identification method of the present invention, 4 strains are identified as M. fortuitum, which is consistent with the result of the biochemical identification method. M. fortuitum complex covers various mycobacterial species, and includes M. fortuitum ATCC 6841, M. fortuitum ATCC 49403, M. fortuitum ATCC 49404, and M. peregrinum as reference species. 4 clinically isolated strains were identified as M. fortuitum ATCC 6841. When the 4 strains are compared with M. fortuitum ATCC 6841, they have 99.4-100% nucleotide sequence homology.

The present invention is further specifically illustrated in the following examples, which should not be taken to limit the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLE 1 DNA Isolation From Reference Strains and Clinically Isolated Strains

1-1: Selection of Subject Strain

As shown in Table 1, The hsp 65 gene fragments of 50 reference strains were sequenced, including 47 reference strains from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), a reference strain of M. leprae (Thai 53 strain) from Hanssen's disease center of the Catholic university of Korea, and 2 reference strains (type II, III) of M. kansasii from V. Vincent. In addition, 3 reference strains of Tsukamurella from the German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures and a reference strain of Nocardia from ATCC were selected.

As shown in Tables 2 and 4, the clinically isolated strains are strains that were previously identified according to the biochemical identification method.

1-2: DNA Isolation

The genomic DNA of reference strains and clinically isolated strains was extracted according to the Bead Beater Phenol (BB/P) extraction method. The culture of each mycobacteria was suspended with TEN buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl, 1 mM EDTA, 100 mM NaCl: pH 8.0) placed in a 2.0 ml screw-cap microcentrifuge tube filled with 100 μl (packed volume) of beads (glass beads, 0.1 mm diameter; Biospec Products, Bartlesville, Okla., U.S.A.) and 100 A phenol:chloroform:isopropylalcohol solution (50:49:1, v/v/v). To disrupt the bacteria, the tube was oscillated with a Mini-Bead beater (Biospec Products, Bartlesville, Okla., U.S.A.) for one minute, and to separate phases, the tube was centrifuged (12,000 rpm, 5 min). After the supernatant (100 μl) was transferred into another clean tube, the tube was centrifuged at 15,000 rpm for 5 min with the addition of 60 μl of isopropyl alcohol. The resultant DNA pellet was washed with 70% ethanol, solubilized with 60 μl of TE buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl, 1 mM EDTA), and used as a template DNA for the analysis of nucleotide sequence and identification of the mycobacterial species in the following Examples.

EXAMPLE 2 Preparation of Primers for Amplifying hsp 65 Gene Fragments

A forward primer and a backward primer were prepared for specifically amplifying hsp 65 genes of all mycobacterial species. hsp 65 genes of M. tuberculosis (GenBank No. M15467) and M. avium (GenBank No. AF281650) of which 623-bp full sequences were previously analyzed for another purpose, and T. paurometabola (GenBank No. AF352578) were used for this example to prepare primers for amplifying hsp 65 genes of all the mycobacteria. The primers were shown in SEQ ID NO: 55 and 56, and positions thereof are indicated in FIG. 1. Forward primer: HSPF3 5′-ATCGCCAAGGAGATCGAGCT-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 55) Backward primer: HSPR4 5′-AAGGTGCCGCGGATCTTGTT-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 56)

EXAMPLE 3 Amplification of 644-bp hsp 65 Gene Fragment

3-1) PCR Amplification of hsp 65 Gene

PCR reaction was carried out using AccuPower PCR PreMix (Korea, bioneer) containing 2 U Taq polymerase, 10 mM dNTP, 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.3), and 1.5 mM MgCl₂. 50 ng of each DNA isolated in Example 1, and 20 pmol of each primer prepared in Example 2 were placed in a tube and distilled water was added thereto to a final volume of 20 μl. PCR was performed at 95° C. for 5 min for a first denaturation followed by 30 cycles of 1 min at 95° C. for subsequent denaturation, 45 s at 62° C. for annealing, 1 min 30 s at 72° C. for extension, and 5 min at 72° C. for final extension (Model 9600 thermocycler, Perkin-Elmer cetus). After PCR reaction, PCR products were electrophoresed on 1% agarose gel to observe a 644-bp fragment.

3-2) Separation of PCR Product

After electrophoresis on 1% gel, a gel part containing the 644-bp of PCR product was cut and transferred into a new tube in order to separate DNA. DNA isolation and purification were carried out using a Qiaex (Qiagen, Germany) system. 500 μl of a solution for gel dissolution, QX1, was added to the tube, and the gel and solution were melted at 50° C. for 15 min. Then, 10 μl of gel beads were mixed therein and held at 50° C. for 15 min. The tube was subjected to a vortex for 10 s at intervals of 1 min to equally spread the beads. The tube contents were then washed once with QX1 and twice with QF, dried at 45° C. for 10 min, followed by addition of a TE buffer to obtain 20 μl of DNA.

After PCR reaction, 1% agarose gel electrophoresis confirmed that a 644- bp fragment was obtained, which is shown in FIG. 2.

Panel A in FIG. 2 indicates amplified DNA products of reference strains as follows.

Lane M: DNA size marker obtained by treating 174 with Hae III;

-   -   1: M. tuberculosis, 2: M. bovis,     -   3: M. africanum, 4: M. avium,     -   5: M. intracellulare, 5: M. scrofulaceum,     -   6: M. gordonae, 7: M. szulgai,     -   8. M. marinum, 9: M. ulcerans,     -   10: M. celatum Type I, 11. M. genavense,     -   12. M. malmoense, 13. M. fortuitum 6841,     -   14: M. abscessus, 15: M. chelonae,     -   16: M. peregrinum.

Panel B in FIG. 2 indicates amplified DNA products of clinically isolated strains as follows.

-   -   lane M: DNA size marker obtained by treating 174 with HaeIII;     -   1-4: Tbc—clinically isolated strain of M. tuberculosis     -   5-7: Mac—clinically isolated strain of M. avium complex;     -   8-10: Kac—clinically isolated strain of M. kansasii;     -   11-13: Foc—clinically isolated strain of M. fortuitum;     -   14-16: Chc—clinically isolated strain of M. chelonae.

As shown in FIG. 2, 644-bp hsp 65 gene fragments were obtained from reference strains and clinically isolated strains used in the Example. Therefore, the result suggests that the primers of the present invention could amplify the hsp 65 gene of all the mycobacteria.

EXAMPLE 4 Nucleotides Sequence Analysis of hsp 65 Gene Fragment

4-1: Sequence Analysis

Two strands of 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragments except for 40-bp of primer region which corresponded to the 183^(rd) to 806^(th) positions in hsp 65 of M. tuberculosis were sequenced with a forward primer (HSPF3) and a backward primer (HSPR4). The eluted DNA from the gel was used as a template, and automatic sequencing was performed. 1060 ng of the template DNA, 1.2 pmol of each primer, and 2 μl of dye from a BigDye Terminator Cycle Sequencing kit (PE Applied Biosystems) were mixed, and distilled water were added thereto, to a final volume of 10 μl. Reaction was undertaken with a Perkin Elmer Cetus 9600 for 25 cycles of 10 sec at 95° C., 10 sec at 60° C., and 4 min at 60° C. DNA was purified from the reacted sample by an ethanol precipitation method. That is, after 180 μl of distilled water and 10 μl of 3 M sodium acetate were added to the sample to bring the total volume to 200 μl, twice the volume of 100% ethanol was mixed with the mixture and centrifuging was carried out to precipitate DNA. After adding 500 μl of 70% ethanol, centrifuging was carried out at 15,000 rpm for 20 min to wash the DNA. The DNA was recovered with formamide (PE Applied Biosystems). The purified DNA was incubated at 95° C. for 5 min to generate single strand DNA, and the sequence was analyzed with an ABI 3100 system (ABI3100, PE Applied Biosystems) after electrophoresis for 2 hours 30 min. From a search on Genbank, all 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragments of 54 reference strains were found to be novel.

4-2) Alignment of 604-bp hsp 65 Gene Fragment

The nucleotide sequences obtained in the examples were multi-aligned by using the Megalign program of the Dnastar software to construct a database of hsp 65 gene fragments.

The rpoB nucleotide sequence (606-bp) of 54 reference strains analyzed by EXAMPLE 4-2) were multi-aligned by using the Megalign program of the Dnastar software to construct a database of hsp 65 gene fragments.

For the multiple alignment, 604-bp nucleotides were translated to 301 amino acid residues and the amino acid residues were multiply aligned by a Clustal Method of the Megalign program. The database for identifying is the Mycobacteria was constructed using 604 bp nucleotides deduced from the aligned 301 amino acid residues. Sequence homology among nucleotide sequences of reference strains was determined by analyzing multiple aligned database with sequence distance on the Megalign program.

The nucleotide sequences of 54 reference strains were analyzed by using a direct sequence analysis method, and then multi-aligned. The result confirmed that other reference strains except for TB complex including M. africanum, M. bovis, M. vobis BCG, M. microti, and M. tuberculosis had different sequences.

4-3) Construction of Phylogenetic Tree

The phylogenetic relationship between reference strains was analyzed using a phylogenetic tree constructed by MEGA software (Kumar, S., K. Tamura, and N. Masatoshi. 1993. MEGA: molecular evolutionary genetics analysis, version 1.01. Pennsylvania State University, University Park). The multiple aligned 604-bp polynucleotides from 50 kinds of mycobacterial species were used to construct a Neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree based on the Juke-Cantor distance estimation method and a pairwise deletion method by using a 604-bp polynucleotide of T. paurometabola as a outgroup. An analysis of bootstrap was performed through 100 replications. 50 kinds of mycobacteria reference strains made a large group, and fast-growing mycobacteria and slow-growing mycobacteria were formed into different groups from each other. The result reflected the general characteristics of mycobacteria in that pathogenic mycobacteria, M. tuberculosis, and M. leprae were located in the same branch, and M. avium and M. intracellulare among MOTT were also formed in the same branch on the phylogenetic tree. In addition, the phylogenetic tree was characterized in that M. kansasii could be differentiated from M. gastri, which could not be differentiated according to the identification method using 16s rDNA. Also, subspecies of M. kansasii can be differentiated (that is, nucleotide sequences of Type I, II, and III of M. kansasii are different) (FIG. 6).

EXAMPLE 5 Differentiation of Reference Strains of Mycobacteria by Using the PRA

Xho-I (5′-CTCGAG-3′) with 6 nucleotide recognition sites was determined by analyzing 644-bp (corresponding to the 163r to the 806^(th) position) of hsp 65 gene of M. tuberculosis (GenBank No. M15467) and M. avium (GenBank No. AF281650) with the Mapdraw program of Dnastar software.

10 ul of the 644-pb PCR product in EXAMPLE 3 of 27 kinds of reference strains as shown in Table 3 were transferred to a new test tube, treated with 1 ul (10 units) of Xho-I, and became a final volume of 20 ul with addition of 2 ul of 10× buffer and distilled water. The mixture was kept at 37° C. in a bath for 1 hour. The cleaved mixture was analyzed by 2% agarose gel electrophoresis in order to investigate whether the 27 kinds of reference strains could be identified. TABLE 3 PRA analysis of 27 kinds of reference strains No. strain Source TB complex 1 M. africanum ATCC 25420 2 M. bovis ATCC 19210 3 M. bovis BCG French strain 4 M. tuberculosis H37Rv ATCC 27294 Slow-growing mycobacteria 5 M. avium ATCC 25291 6 M. celatum Type I ATCC 51131 7 M. celatum Type II ATCC 51130 8 M. gastri ATCC 15754 9 M. genavense ATCC 51233 10 M. gordonae ATCC 14470 11 M. haemophilum ATCC 29548 12 M. interjectum ATCC 51457 13 M. intracellulare ATCC 13950 14 M. kansasii Type I ATCC 12478 15 M. malmoense ATCC 29571 16 M. marinum ATCC 927 17 M. scrofulaceum ATCC 19981 18 M. shimoidei ATCC 27962 19 M. simiae ATCC 25275 20 M. szulgai ATCC 35799 21 M. ulcerans ATCC 19423 Rapid-growing mycobacteria 22 M. abscessus CAP97E-03 23 M. chelonae ATCC 35749 24 M. chitae ATCC 19627 25 M. fortuitum 49403 ATCC 49403 26 M. fortuitum 6841 ATCC 6841 27 M. peregrinum ATCC 14467 Differentiation of TB Complex and MOTT

4 kinds of reference strains (M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. bovis BCG, M. africanum) which belong to a TB complex of strongly pathogenetic mycobacteria could be differentiated from opportunistic pathogens of MOTT by use of specific restriction fragments of 391-bp, 150-bp, and 103-bp. The results are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 3 is a photograph of agarose gel electrophoresis of a 644-bp PCR product of an hsp 65 gene fragment of reference strain treated with Xho I.

Lane M: DNA size marker obtained by treating 174 with Hae III,

-   -   1: M. tuberculosis, 2: M. bovis,     -   3: M. bovis BCG, 4: M. africanum,     -   5: M. avium, 6: M. intracellulare,     -   7: M. celatum Type I, 8: M. ulcerans,     -   9: M. gordonae, 10: M. asiaticum,     -   11. M. marinum, 12. M. kansasii,     -   13. M. fortuitum 6841, 14: M. abscessus,     -   15: M. chelonae, 16: M. peregrinum

Lanes 1-4 indicated that M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. bovis BCG, and M. africanum of the TB complex were differentiated from MOTT based on the different restriction fragments.

Differentiation of Fast-growing Mycobacteria

Lanes 12-16 in FIG. 3 indicated that 644-bp fast-growing mycobacteria including M. fortuitum 6841, M. abscessus, M. chelonae, and M. peregrinum were not cleaved by Xho-I, thereby differentiating them from the other mycobacteria (FIGS. 3 and 4).

Differentiation of Slow-growing Bacteria Including M. avium Complex and M. kansasii

It was reported that M. avium complex and M. kansasii were isolated from a clinical sample at the highest frequency in fast-growing bacteria. As shown in FIG. 3, the M. avium complex including M. avium (lane 5) and M. intracellulare (lane 6) produced three kinds of restriction fragments of 391-bp, 169-bp, and 84-bp by treating with the XhoI, thereby differentiating them from M. kansasii (lane 11) producing two kinds of fragments (391-bp and 253-bp). Therefore, the PRA method according to the present invention can differentiate the reference strains with 100% sensitivity and specificity Based on the above results, the differentiation of 27 kinds of reference strains including M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. bovis BCG, and M. africanum of the TB complex, and M. avium, M. intracellulare, and M. kansasii among MOTT are summarized in FIG. 4.

EXAMPLE 6 Differentiation of Clinically Isolated Strains of Mycobacteria by Using the PRA

The PCR amplification of EXAMPLE 3 and PRA method of EXAMPLE 5 were performed for 198 clinically-isolated strains shown in Table 4. TABLE 4 PRA analysis of clinically isolated strains strain No. of isolates TB complex M. tuberculosis 54 M. bovis 9 Slow-growing mycobacteria M. avium complex 49 M. kansasii 30 M. szulgai 12 M. gordonae 9 M. marinum 3 Rapid-growing mycobacteria M. fortuitum 17 M. chelonae 15 Sum 198

FIG. 5 is a photograph of 2% agarose gel electrophoresis of a reaction product obtained by treating the amplified hsp 65 gene fragment with Xho I. In panel A, lane M is a DNA size marker obtained by treating 174 with Hae III; Tbc M of Lanes 1-8 and Mac of Lanes 9-16 are concerned with a result of clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis and M. avium complex, respectively. In panel B, Kac of lanes 1-8 and Foc of lanes 9-16 represent a result of clinical isolates of M. kansasii and M. fortuitum, respectively.

From FIG. 5, it can be seen that 54 strains of TB complex produced specific restriction fragments of 391 bp, 150bp, and 103-bp, thereby differentiating them from 144 strains of MOTT. 32 strains of fast-growing mycobacteria were not cleaved by the restriction enzyme, so they could be differentiated from the other 168 strains. 49 clinical isolates of M. avium complex produced specific restriction fragments of 391 bp, 169bp, and 84bp, and thus were differentiated from 39 clinical isolates of a group including M. kansasii which produced 2 kinds of restriction fragments (391-pb and 253-bp).

This example confirmed that the PRA method of the present invention by using the hsp 65 gene can be applied to a clinical isolate of mycobacteria.

EXAMPLE 7 Identification of Clinical Isolate by Using the Comparative Sequence Analysis

As shown in Table 2, 38 mycobacterial species including 10 kinds of TB complex and 28 MOTT obtained from the Koran Institute of Tuberculosis (Seoul, Korea) were employed as clinically isolated species.

DNA extraction, amplification, and PCR-mediated sequencing of hsp 65 gene fragments were accomplished according to the methods described in Examples 3 and 4. Then, the result was multi-aligned with a sequence database of 54 kinds of reference species in the Megalign program of Dnastar software according to the method of Example 4, to infer a phylogenetic tree according to the Neighbor-Joining method of Mega software. The identification result showed that 38 clinically isolated strains were identified to species level with 100% sensitivity and specificity as indicated in Table 2 and FIGS. 7 a to 7 d. The result in FIGS. 7 a to 7 d are specifically described:

FIG. 7 a: Identification of 4 strains of M. gordonae (KIT 32101, 32104, 32105, 32106), 4 strains of M. szulgai (KIT 31102, 31103, 31106, 31107), and a strain of M. marinum (KIT 21101).

FIG. 7 b: Identification of 2 strains of M. scrofulaceum (KIT 30101, 30102), and 4 strains of M. avium complex (KIT 41105, 41110, 41111, 41115).

FIG. 7 c: Identification of 1 strain of M. tuberculosis (KIT 77710), 3 strains of M. kansasii (KIT 20118, 20119, 20120), and 4 strains of M. terrae complex (KIT 47101, 47102, 47103, 47104).

FIG. 7 d: Identification of 2 strains of M. chelonae complex (KIT 61104, 61105), and 4 strains of M. fortuitum (KIT 60108, 60109, 60110, 60111).

a) 10 strains of M. tuberculosis were identified as M. tuberculosis (Table 2 and FIG. 7 b). The clinically isolated strains had 100% nucleotide sequence homology with M. tuberculosis ATCC 27284.

b) 3 strains of M. avium complex were identified as M. intracellulare and a strain of M.avium complex was identified as M. avium, respectively. M. avium (KIT 41110) had 99.5% nucleotide sequence homology with M. avium ATCC 25281 which included 3 different nucleotides in a 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragment. When the nucleotide sequences of 3 strains of M. intracellulare (KIT 41105, 41111, and 51115) were compared with that of M. Intracellulare ATCC 13850, they showed 99.0-99.8% sequence homology.

c) 2 strains of M. scrofulaceum (KIT 30101, 30102) were identified as M. scrofulaceum (FIG. 7 b). 2 clinically isolated strains and M. scrofulaceum ATCC 19981 had 99.8-100% nucleotide sequence homology.

d) 3 strains of M. kansasii (KIT 20118, 20119, 20120) had 100% nucleotide sequence homology, and were identified as M. kansasii Type I ATCC 12478 (FIG. 7 c). The result is consistent with that of the biochemical identification method.

e) 4 strains (KIT 32101, 32104, 32105, and 32106) were identified as M. gordonae (FIG. 7 a and Table 2). When comparing the nucleotide sequences of a 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragment of 4 clinically isolated strains, they had 99.2-99.8% sequence homology with each other, but they had 95.9-96.3% sequence homology with M. gordonae ATCC 14470. The result indicates a considerably low sequence homology between M. gordonae species.

Like the results of the biochemical identification method, 4 clinically isolated strains (KIT 31102, 31103, 31106, 31107) were identified as M. szulgai (FIG. 7 a, and Table 2), and had 99.5-100% sequence homology with their reference strain (M. szulgai ATCC 35799)

Like the results of the biochemical identification method, a clinically isolated strain was identified as M. marinum (FIG. 7 a and Table 2), and had 99.3% sequence homology with its reference strain (M. marinum ATCC 927). 4 strains were identified as M. nonchromogenicum of M. terrae complex, and had 95.0-100% sequence homology with M. nonchromogenicum ATCC 19530. The result is consistent with the previous report that M. terrae complex had sequence heterogeneity.

f) Like the biochemical identification method, 2 clinically isolated strains (KIT 61104, 61105) were identified as M. abscessus of M. chelonae complex. The identification method of the present invention resolves the problem of the conventional biochemical method in which M. chelonae and M. abscessus cannot be differentiated. The strains have 98.4-99.5% nucleotide sequence homology with M. abscessus CAP97E-03.

Like the biochemical identification method, 4 clinically isolated strains were identified as M. fortuitum ATCC 6841, and had 99.4-100% sequence homology with the reference strain. In the present invention, M. fortuitum ATCC 6841, M. fortuitum ATCC 49403, M. fortuitum ATCC 49404, and M. peregrinum were employed as reference strains for M. fortuitum. 

1. A pair of primers for specifically amplifying an hsp 65 (Heat Shock Protein 65) gene fragment of mycobacterial species comprising the nucleotide sequences as shown in SEQ ID NO: 55 and SEQ ID NO:
 56. 2. A polynucleotide of an hsp 65 gene fragment of mycobacterial species wherein the fragment is amplified by using a pair of primers specifically amplifying the hsp 65 gene fragment of mycobacterial species comprising the nucleotide sequences as shown in SEQ ID NO: 55 and SEQ ID NO:
 56. 3. A polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of polynucleotides as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 to SEQ ID NO: 54, and polynucleotides complementary thereto.
 4. A polynucleotide set for the detection or identification of mycobacterial species wherein the set comprises at least an hsp 65 gene fragment selected from the group consisting of the polynucleotides as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 to SEQ ID NO: 54 and polynucleotides complementary thereto.
 5. A method for the identification of mycobacterial species comprising the steps of: (1) amplifying an hsp 65 gene fragment of mycobacterial species of interest with primers for specifically amplifying the hsp 65 gene fragment; (2) analyzing a nucleotide sequence of the amplified hsp 65 gene fragment; and (3) comparing the nucleotide sequence of the amplified hsp 65 gene fragment obtained in step (2) with a 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragment of a reference mycobacterial species.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the primers comprise the polynucleotides as shown in SEQ ID NO: 55 and SEQ ID NO:
 56. 7. The method of claim 5, wherein step (3) of comparing the nucleotide sequence of the mycobacterial species of interest with that of a reference mycobacterial species is performed by multi-aligning the nucleotide sequence of the 604-bp hsp 65 gene fragment of the mycobacterial species of interest with a polynucleotide set of claim 4 to infer a phylogenetic tree.
 8. A method for the identification of mycobacterial species comprising the steps of: (1) amplifying an hsp 65 gene fragment of mycobacterial species with primers of claim 1; and (2) analyzing the amplified fragment according to the RFLP (Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism) analysis method using a restriction enzyme recognition site in the amplified fragment.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the restriction enzyme is Xho I.
 10. The method of claim 9 comprising the step of treating the amplified hsp 65 gene fragment with Xho I to produce restriction fragment(s), and analyzing the restriction fragment(s) according to an RFLP analysis method to differentiate TB complex (Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex) and MOTT (Mycobacteria other than Mycobacterium tuberculosis).
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the restriction fragments are 391-bp, 150-bp, and 103-bp fragments to identify the TB complex.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the 644-bp hsp 65 gene fragment is not cleaved by a restriction enzyme to identify fast-growing mycobacteria of MOTT.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the restriction fragments are 391-bp, 169-bp, and 48-bp to identify a mycobacterial species selected from the group consisting of M, avium, M. intracellulare, M. celatum, M. shimoidei, and M. szulgai.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein the restriction fragments are 391-bp and 253-bp to identify a mycobacterial species selected from the group consisting of M, gastri, M. genavense, M. gordonae, M. haemophilum, M. kansasii, M. malmoense, M. marinum, M. scrofulaceum, M. simiae, and M. ulcerans.
 15. A kit for the differentiation or diagnosis of TB complex and MOTT comprising a pair of primers of claim 1 and Xho I, wherein the mycobacterial species is differentiated or diagnosed based on the size of restriction fragment(s) which is obtained by amplifying an hsp 65 gene fragment of mycobacterial species in a sample with the primers to produce an amplified fragment and analyzing the amplified fragment according to an RFLP analysis method.
 16. A method for the identification of a mycobacterial species comprising the steps of: (1) amplifying an hsp 65 gene fragment of a mycobacterial species of interest with primers for specifically amplifying an hsp65 gene of mycobacteria; and (2) hybridizing the amplified hsp65 gene fragment with a probe set comprising at least a probe selected from the group consisting of polynucleotides as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 to SEQ ID NO: 54 and polynucleotides complementary thereto. 